


all you have to do is stay

by ackermanx



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: M/M, this was actually for a class assignment too ahahaha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-07 01:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11048223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ackermanx/pseuds/ackermanx
Summary: in which second chances are given





	all you have to do is stay

**Author's Note:**

> thank you aaron for the "what if robin returned but he lost his memory again and they have to start all over again" thread . i dont think i did the idea justice but i suffered all the same
> 
> anyways i hope that my creative writing teacher enjoys vague chrobin angst

“...rom! Chrom, wake up, it’s past ten already. You never let me sleep in this late before.”

Groaning, Chrom shifts around to bury his face in his pillow, mumbling something that sounded like “royal duties wait for no one, Lissa.”

“Chrom!” He hears Lissa stomp her foot, huff exasperatedly, then - 

“If you don’t wake up, Tharja’s gonna march in and hex you out of - “

Chrom’s eyes snap open, and he scrambles to sit upright in bed. “Okay! Okay, I’m awake now, I swear. No need to call Tharja in to...do whatever it is she does.”

Not even a second later, Lissa’s laughter fills the room.

“You...you should’ve seen your...face!” she splutters, practically bent over double from the force of her laughs. “It was - it was like you were praying to Naga and writing your will at the same time, I have to tell Lon’qu about this…”

“Betrayed. Betrayed by my own sister, I can’t believe this.” Chrom brings a hand to his forehead dramatically, peering at Lissa out of the corner of his eye. “My own family, trying to kill me prematurely.”

“Okay, now you’re just being dramatic.” Lissa hops off of her chair, pokes Chrom in the arm once, then makes a beeline for the door. “By the way, everyone’s downstairs eating, so you might want to hurry or there’ll be no more food left for you.”

“Is that a threat?” Chrom calls out just as the door to his room swings closed.

He sighs, somewhat resigned to the fact that Lissa could and would deprive him of his favorite foods just to make a point. So instead of lounging in bed for another half hour, Chrom puts on the armor that he had carefully laid out the night before and trudges downstairs in search of a hot meal.

The hotel owner spots him first; Chrom watches, mildly amused, as the small and rather pudgy man attempts to stand and is immediately tripped by one of Sumia’s flailing limbs.

“Lord - Lord Chrom!” he exclaims happily. “So good of you to join us for breakfast - I apologize, your Shepherds pulled me into a conversation and I found it hard to escape.”

“To escape? How...oddly accurate.” Chrom smiles, waving a hand in greeting. “But don’t worry about it - come eat breakfast with us, if you have any spare time right now.”

That brings up a loud cheer from the back of the group, and someone yanks the owner back down to continue discussing...whatever they had been discussing in the first place. Chrom himself decides to sit near the front, next to Olivia, if only for the peace and quiet that he knew being with the dancer would bring.

It lasts for all of ten minutes. Chrom can feel Olivia’s eyes gazing curiously at his head as he practically inhales a plate of eggs, leaving him with (seemingly) no other choice but to give up the act.

“Alright, yes, I’m worried,” Chrom sighs. “Won’t we be passing by another village today? What if...what if this is the place where we meet…”

He trails off, unable to bring himself to finish the sentence, but Olivia’s eyes light up in understanding anyway.

“Robin?”

Chrom visibly deflates, using his fork to push around the remaining food on his place. “Yeah. Him. I suppose it’s too much to hope for that his memory is still intact, but it is a possibility, isn’t it?”

Olivia reaches out a hand, patting Chrom’s shoulder sympathetically. “I think...I think that you’re thinking too much. Robin...he’s never let you down, has he?”

“No, never. Not in battle, not as a friend, not as...never.”

“Then he won’t this time. If Robin - if he really said that he’ll be back, then he’ll be back. Memories...you can deal with those later.”

Chrom exhales, feeling far more relaxed than he had been in the morning. “Thank you, Olivia. I think I needed that.”

Smiling faintly, Olivia murmurs a “no problem at all” as Chrom stands up and clears his throat a few times to get everyone’s attention.

“Alright, everybody! Try to finish breakfast in the next few minutes - Stahl, I’m looking at you - “

The group breaks out into muffled laughter; Stahl just offers a sheepish grin.

“ - but in all seriousness, we’ll be heading out in around fifteen minutes. So gather your things and meet me outside.”

Vaike’s joking shout of “aye aye, captain!” gets another round of laughter from the dispersing crowd; Chrom just shakes his head, a fond smile on his face, and heads upstairs with the rest of his group to clear out his own things.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Milord. Not to pry, but do we have a goal for today?”

“Hm? Oh, Frederick, it’s you.”

Chrom squints into the sun, grimacing at the broad horse-mounted figure next to him. “Could you, uh. Would you mind terribly if I moved to your other side? I can’t see anything like this.”

Graciously not saying anything, Frederick simply raises an eyebrow and says “of course not, milord,” watching as Chrom walks a wide circle around Frederick’s horse.

“Ah, yes, this is much better. Now, what did you want to know?”

“Just where we’re headed, I suppose. Nothing else to really know, anyway.”

“The distance between villages has been slightly shorter, so I assume that we’re getting closer to Ylisse. We’ll just...circle back, then, and once we arrive at the castle everyone can decide for themselves what they want to do next.” Sighing once more, Chrom smiles fondly at the ground. “It’s been a good year, but at the same time, it’s already been a year. I really should be getting to my royal duties.”

“A wise decision.” Frederick nods. “Then you’d give up on your search for Robin? I have seen how much he means to you...would you be alright with the decision?”

“To be honest, it kills me.” Chrom runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “But Robin will be back, I know it. I just hope he knows where to find me.”

“If you say so, milo - “

A single desperate yell breaks through the friendly chatter among the group, cutting Frederick off mid-sentence and leaving everyone reaching for their weapons.

Henry peers curiously at the approaching woman. “She’s still far away,” he states casually. “Ya want me to hex her?”

Libra simply raises an eyebrow. “We are in peacetime, Henry. I don’t think that anyone would appreciate you hexing anyone at the moment.”

“You guys are no fun.” Henry rolls his eyes. “But alright.”

Trying to repress an amused snort, Chrom waves the distressed lady over.

“Are you alright? What’s happened?”

“Our village! It’s been - “

The woman looks up, eyes wide. “Lord Chrom! I - I did not realize, forgive me for intruding upon your - “

Chrom waves a hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it, that’s not important right now. What happened to your village? Is it under attack?”

“Yes, actually - bandits and a few leftover Risen?”

She turns around suddenly, gesturing frantically. “Here! Follow me!”

It only takes a one look between Chrom and his group to make them all start hurrying in the direction of the woman in front.

Once they arrive, the mess is rather simple to clean up - once you’ve defeated a fell dragon, a group of sparsely armed barely-adults and two or three sluggish undead is a piece of cake. The undead are slain right then and there, the teenagers are sent running with their pride crumbled, and the villagers all take a collective sigh of relief.

They insist that Chrom and the others stay (“at least let us repay you for what you have done for us! A celebration is in order tonight!). Virion, damn him and his fast mouth, accepts the offer before anyone else even has a chance to respond, leaving the townspeople cheering and scattering to every corner of the place to prepare for the night ahead.

“You’ll thank me later,” he mutters into Chrom’s ear, an all-knowing smirk on his face.

Chrom wants to pull Virion back and ask him what in Naga’s name is going on, but he already knows that Virion would just talk circles around everything and be infuriatingly polite the whole time. So he lets the matter go.

For now.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is great, isn’t it?” Ricken yells over the music. “It feels like we haven’t had this much fun in ages!”

“That’s because we haven’t, dear,” Maribelle calls over her shoulder, twirling past with a rather contented-looking Gaius in her arms. “And don’t try to deny it, Chrom, I can see how much fun you’re having as well.”

Chrom simply chuckles, holding up his hands in defeat. And Maribelle was right - he hadn’t felt this carefree and purely joyful in ages, not since before the war, and definitely not since -

“Robin,” he mumbles, suddenly remembering what he was going to do at this party.

Tapping Ricken on the shoulder, Chrom raises his voice a little in order to be heard. “I’m going to take care of some business; could you look after Henry for me? Make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble?”

“Sure, no problem!” RIcken waves after Chrom’s retreating figure. “Good luck!”

Nodding in thanks, Chrom slips away from the celebrating crowd and makes his way towards the more secluded residency area of the town. He doesn’t know exactly where Robin would go - he’s not psychic - but he does have a general idea, which is what drives him to look for the nearest library.

After around ten minutes of wandering, Chrom’s starting to think that maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all when the gentle tinkling of a bell rings through the air and a body collides with Chrom’s own, sending an armful of books tumbling to the ground.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going! Please forgive me, and um...a good night to you, sir.”

Chrom freezes in place, not even daring to lift up his head. The voice was just too familiar, the way of speaking just too familiar -

“Robin?” he says quietly.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“So you don’t remember anything? You don’t know who we are?”

Robin shakes his head, smiling sadly at Stahl. “I wish I remembered - I really do wish I could remember everything that you told me, because it does sound nice. I really got to fight a war with all of you?”

He pauses, looks down, then peers at everyone through his eyelashes. “You all sound really nice. I’m almost jealous of myself for having the privilege of knowing you.”

“W-Well!” Olivia speaks up, startling everyone around her. “You’re here now, aren’t you? You could...we could get to know each other again. Only if you want to, of course!”

“Thanks for the offer, but...I couldn’t just leave here.” Robin gestures towards the window, attempting to convey the feeling of home in the bustle of everyday life happening outside. “I’ve lived here for I don’t know how long, but ever since the baker found me lying in a field a little ways from here. And after that, the villagers became like family to me.”

Chrom just smiles, trying not to think about how Robin used to the say the same thing about the Shepherds. “Well, we’re not leaving anytime soon, so if you’d still like to become friends…?”

“We’re staying?” Lissa raises an eyebrow, which only climbs higher when Chrom shoots her a Look. “Okay, sure, we’re staying.”

Robin blinks. “Then, you wouldn’t mind if I started over with you all?”

“Of course not, dear. We’d be glad to have you here. After all, it’s you that we miss, not your memories.” Maribelle pats Robin’s arm gently with her nearest hand. “The only question is, would you mind?”

Robin breaks out into the largest smile that Chrom has seen in a while.

“I would be honored to.”

“Then - “ Chrom extends a hand to shake Robin’s - “welcome back to the team, Robin.

Welcome back.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh! Good morning, Robin! You’re up early today.”

“Hello, Sumia.” Robin squints into the sunlight reflected off of Sumia’s armor, managing a non-painful-looking smile. “I know you guys are busy with packing up, but have you seen Chrom? I have something I have to discuss with him before he leaves.”

“Umm, now that you mention it, I’m not entirely sure?” Sumia scans their surroundings once, shaking her head when she finds no sign of Chrom. “I could fly my pegasus up and see if I can spot him, if you want…?”

“No! I mean - don’t bother - I mean, I can look for him myself,” Robin laughs nervously. “Please don’t take any offense, I just want to keep it a bit low-key because of personal matters.”

“Ohh, it’s that kind of a conversation? Right, right, don’t mind me then.” Sumia giggles and throws Robin a wink, mouthing good luck to him as she walks back to her tent.

Robin flushes red, mutters a “thanks, I guess” under his breath, and hurriedly walks away in search of the rest of the group.

He ends up finding Chrom in a secluded corner of the dining room of the hotel that the Shepherds had been staying at. As Chrom lets out a frustrated noise, Robin can’t help but snort at his obvious distress - from what Robin had gathered from his conversations with the others, Chrom had been absolutely awful with paperwork of any kind.

“Still struggling with management, hm?” Sliding into the seat across from Chrom, Robin props up his head on his hands and grins.

“You wouldn’t know; you made everything look so easy,” Chrom grumbles. Then something seems to click in his head - his eyes widen and he straightens up in his seat, staring directly into Robin’s eyes.

Robin blinks. “Did I say something?”

“You said - still struggling - did you - “

The grin slides off of Robin’s face. “No, I haven’t remembered anything. I got that piece of information from Gaius, actually. But never mind that - Chrom, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Chrom furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

“I...I’m sorry for being so direct, but I’ve seen the way that you all look at me. Like you’re expecting something from me; I know that you’re all waiting for the moment that my memory will return and everything will be able to return to the way it was before. And I will admit, being with the Shepherds is familiar and it feels more like family than anything else ever has - yes, even this town - but I don’t think I ever will remember, Chrom. And I don’t want you all to be led on by false hope, so I don’t know if I should travel with you guys.”

Chrom just sits there, staring: first at Robin’s face, then at the wall behind Robin, then at all the papers laid out in front of him. Eventually, he looks back up, and Robin inhales deeply at the amount of love and hope and acceptance in Chrom’s eyes.

“I know all that, Robin, I really do. I understand that your memory has been wiped, and that there’s no chance of getting it back - you wouldn’t know, but it was like this the last time we met you, too. And I know that you wouldn’t remember who we were to you - especially not...not who I was to you, but - what Olivia said before, long ago, was right. You’re here now, we could start over and rebuild, get to know each other all over again. And not just with me, with everyone else too. We’re all just happy to have you here with us, believe me. But if it’s not what you want, then we’ll respect your decision and leave without you. It’s your choice, Robin. We won’t do anything without your consent.”

Robin takes a deep breath, takes another deep breath, then smiles shyly and reaches one hand across the table to grasp Chrom’s free hand.

“In that case, then...I’d like to stay. Think you guys have room for one more?”

Chrom laughs then, filling up the entire room with the sound of pure joy.

“We’ll always have room for you, Robin.”


End file.
